[VCFilmmakers] Camera Workshop Review

[Kristopher Yim]

Couldn't make it? Didn't bother? You're in luck! Here's some camera
concepts we covered:
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*APERTURE* - how open the iris is on the lens (like your eye); measured in
"f-stop"

*small f-stop (like f/2) means the aperture is more open, letting in more
light (side effect: shallower depth of field--less range of things in focus)
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*
*
*high f-stop (like f/22) means the aperture is very closed, letting in less
light (side effect: deeper depth of field--more range of things in focus)*

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*ISO* - camera sensor's sensitivity to light

*low ISO like 100 - needs more light (your picture will be darker)*
*
*
*high ISO like 3000 - needs less light (your image will be brighter, but
grainier)*

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*SHUTTER SPEED* - measures how long each frame is exposed to light.
Measured in the fraction of a second each frame is exposed to light. For
most realistic motion blur, the denominator should be approximately double
the frames-per-second).

*Fast shutter speed like 1/100 means the frame captures the image really
fast. Less motion blur. Lets in less light.*
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*
*Slow shutter speed like 1/10 means the frame captures the image in a
longer window of time. More motion blur. Lets in more light.*
*Unless you want a special effect, keep it at 1/48 if you're shooting at 24
fps, or 1/60 if you're at 30 fps.*

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THE ABOVE THREE CONCERN HIW BRIGHT OR DARK YOUR CAPTURED IMAGE IS, SO IT'S
EASY TO GET THEM CONFUSED.

Generally rule of thumb, if you need to expose for a dim image (you want
things brighter), change aperture first, but if you must, change your ISO.
Keep your ISO as low as possible to avoid ugly grain. Shutter speed does
affect the brightness of the image, but it's generally not changed for
purposes of exposure.

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*Color temperature*
How your film captures color, measured in Kelvin. Daylight is naturally
more blue than artificial light, like tungsten and flourescent, which is
orange. Set your color temperature to 5600K for daylight, and 3200K for
tungsten.

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*Lenses and focal length*
Zoom lenses let you zoom in and out. Zoomed out lens, at like 20mm is
considered "wide." Zoomed in lens, like at 120mm, is called "telephoto."
Prime lenses have fixed focal lengths, so you have to physically switch the
lens for a wider or longer lens.
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*
*Wide lens (under 50mm) captures more information in front of the camera
(it crams more of the world into the frame). So your subject can go closer
to the camera to be framed properly. MORE DISTORTION, more exaggerated
distances. Greater depth of field.*
*
*
*Normal lens (at 50mm) approximates how the human eye sees things. *
*
*
*Telephoto lens (over 50mm) captures a more specific, distanced image. Your
subject has to move farther away to be framed properly. COMPRESSED IMAGE,
distances are flattened, but portraits of faces look somehow more
attractive. *
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